15 May 2025集誌社#6791
DQ社工｜前區議員再申社工牌 被要求交定罪紀錄、「反思信」 註冊局「翻舊帳」拒批
Cheung Kam-hung, a former Tuen Mun District Councillor who was registered as a social worker more than a decade ago, reapplied for registration last year. The Social Workers Registration Board subsequently asked him to submit court conviction records, a “reflection letter” and character references. The Board rejected his application this year, saying his offences had damaged the reputation of social workers and that his remarks did not rule out the possibility that he might break the law again in future.
Cheung told media that his criminal record included a HK$2,500 fine in 2002 for obstructing a police officer in the execution of duty; a HK$1,500 fine in 2012 in connection with holding a public meeting in breach of the Public Order Ordinance and unlawful assembly; and a HK$5,000 fine in 2014 for unlawful assembly outside the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He said he already had a criminal record when he first registered as a social worker in 2011, and did not understand why the Registration Board, in handling his application, required him to submit records of other offences, and even a “reflection letter” and “character certificate”. Social Workers Registration Board chairperson Herman Chung Shing Hui told media that Cheung’s offences were “not seriously grave”, but repeated disregard for the law required a warning, adding that the Board had never intended to “drive him into a dead end”. The Collective has made enquiries with the Registration Board and is still awaiting a reply.
十多年前曾註冊為社工的前屯門區議員張錦雄，去年重新申請註冊，其後被局方要求呈交法院定罪記錄、「反思信」及品格推薦信。社工註冊局今年拒批其申請，指其干犯罪行有損社工聲譽、其言論沒排除將來不會再違法等。
張錦雄回覆查詢指，其案底包括 2002 年阻差辦公案被罰款 2500 元；2012 年牽涉違反公安條例下進行公眾集會、及非法集結被罰 1500 元；以及 2014 年因在中聯辦外非法集結被判罰款 5000 元。他指 2011 年首次註冊社工時已有案底，不解為何註冊局處理申請，會要求其他提交罪行記錄，甚至是「反思信」和「品格證明書」。社工註冊局主席許宗盛回覆傳媒查詢指，張罪行「不是認真嚴重」，但屢次藐視法律須警醒，稱局方從來無意「趕盡殺絕」；《集誌社》已向註冊局查詢，仍待回覆。
30 Mar 2025集誌社#6629
越界輔導員｜香港心理學會決議公開違規會員資料 「近期媒體關注個案」 接法律文件須暫緩公布
The Collective previously reported that a counsellor was found to have breached the professional code in September 2024 and expelled from the Hong Kong Psychological Society. However, because of a loophole in the society’s privacy policy, her identity was not published in accordance with procedure. She subsequently secured a position at Saint Francis University as a senior counsellor. The Hong Kong Psychological Society said on Saturday (29th) that at a meeting on Wednesday (26th), it passed a resolution to publish on its website details of all members’ breaches and disciplinary sanctions, including their names. However, regarding the “recently media-highlighted case”, the society received relevant legal documents on 28 March and must suspend publication of details of that case pending clarification of the legal proceedings. It said it would handle the matter appropriately and provide information in a timely manner.
The society also recommended that all employers and service users check with it, before hiring psychological service providers, the relevant person’s membership details and whether they had any history of disciplinary sanctions. It urged the government to promptly establish a statutory registration system for psychologists and regulate psychological services. The Asian Professional Counselling and Psychology Association also issued a statement recently urging the government to establish a statutory registration system for the professional practice of psychological counselling, in order to safeguard the public interest.
《集誌社》早前報道，一名輔導員在 2024 年 9 月，被裁違反專業守則後，被香港心理學會開除會籍，但學會因私隱政策漏洞，未按程序公布其身份，她其後成功轉職到於聖方濟各大學，任高級輔導員。香港心理學會周六（29日）表示，於周三（26日）的會議上，通過決議將所有會員的違規和紀律處分詳情，包括姓名在網站公開；不過就近日傳媒報道的個案，該會 3 月 28 日接獲相關法律文件，必須暫緩公布該個案細節，待法律程序釐清後將妥善處理，並提供適時資訊。
該會又建議，所有僱主及服務使用者，在聘用心理服務提供者時，可先向該會查核相關人士的會籍資料、及有否紀律處分歷史；並促請政府盡快推動心理學家法定註冊制度及規管心理服務。亞洲專業輔導及心理協會日前亦發聲明，促政府建立法定心理輔導專業註冊制度，以保障公眾利益。
19 Mar 2025獨媒#6600
不准用「前社工」？許宗盛：劉家棟加入「其他描述」、是好意提醒
Lau Ka-tung, who was convicted of obstructing a police officer in the execution of duty during the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests and sentenced to eight months in prison, was previously struck off the register by the Social Workers Registration Board for five years. Last month, Lau Ka-tung received a letter from the Board warning that using titles such as “independent social worker for social movement cases” or “former social worker” again could violate relevant legislation. Board chairman Herman Chung Shing Hui said that, in addition to using “former social worker”, Lau Ka-tung had also added “other descriptions”, stressing that the Board’s action was purely a well-intentioned reminder: “That description could give rise to a description of their qualifications in the social work profession. I’m not saying they’re not allowed to use it; I’m just reminding them to look at the ordinance if they use it!” As for how Lau Ka-tung should describe their former work, Herman Chung Shing Hui advised them to seek legal advice.
在2019年反修例運動中，被控阻差辦公罪成、判囚8個月的劉家棟，早前被社工註冊局「釘牌」5年，上月接獲社工註冊局信件，警告指對方假如再使用「社運案獨立社工」或「前社工」等名銜，或會觸犯相關法例。社工註冊局主席許宗盛表示，劉家棟除了使用「前社工」外亦加入「其他描述」，強調局方純粹好意提醒：「嗰個描述可能會引起描述佢社會工作專業嘅資格。我唔係話唔准佢用，我只不過提醒，咁用嘅話睇睇條例啦！」至於劉家棟應如何講述昔日工作？許宗盛就喚對方尋找法律意見。
14 Mar 2025法庭線#6581
DQ社工｜禁劉家棟稱前社工 前主席批「顛覆認知」 註冊局「倒模」覆業界：有疑慮自尋法律意見
Can a former social worker describe himself as a former social worker? In the middle of last month, Lau Ka-tung, who had been struck off, received a letter from the Social Workers Registration Board “reminding” him that describing himself as a “former social worker” might violate the Social Workers Registration Ordinance. A social welfare sector figure said this “upended personal understanding”. At least four people in the profession wrote to the Registration Board asking whether, after changing careers, they could write “former social worker” on their résumés, and whether the provision restricting the use of the title would not apply to people with academic qualifications in social work. The different questions received a three-page “templated” reply from the Registration Board, which reproduced Sections 34, “Use of title”, and 35, “Offences and penalties”, of the Social Workers Registration Ordinance, and stated that people who were no longer registered social workers could “seek legal advice on their own” as to whether describing their careers would conflict with the ordinance. After reading the reply, former Registration Board chair Chuen Suen Leung questioned the board’s evasive stance; Chi Wai (1965) Cheung, chair of the Hong Kong Social Workers’ General Union, criticised the board for shifting responsibility onto former social workers; and veteran social worker Tse Sai-kit called the explanation incomprehensible.
前社工能否自稱前社工？上月中，被釘牌的劉家棟，收到社工註冊局信件，「提醒」他自稱「前社工」或犯《社工註冊條例》，有社福界人士感「顛覆個人認知」。至少四業內人士，去信註冊局，查詢如已轉行，履歷表能否寫「前社工」？有社工學術資格，「限制使用名銜」的條文是否不適用等？不同的提問，得到註冊局三頁紙「倒模」回覆，抄錄了《社工註冊條例》第 34 條「使用名銜」、第 35 條「罪行及罰則」條文，及指不再是註冊社工人士，對描述職場生涯會否抵觸條例，「可自行尋求法律意見」。看到回覆後，社會註冊局前主席梁傳孫質疑局方姿態閃縮；社總主席張志偉不滿局方將責任卸予一眾前社工；資深社工謝世傑批說法匪夷所思。
12 Feb 2025集誌社#4510
DQ 社工｜劉家棟收社工局「警告信」 提醒自稱「前社工」或犯法
During the anti-extradition bill protests, former independent social worker Lau Ka-tung, who was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment after being convicted of obstructing police officers and appealing the conviction, posted on Instagram tonight (12th) that he had received a letter from the Social Workers Registration Board stating that he could not call himself a “former social worker”. The letter, it was understood, reminded Lau that referring to himself as a “former social worker” or an “independent social worker in social movement cases” again might constitute an offence under the Social Workers Registration Ordinance. In his post, Lau said he was “no longer a social worker” and that if any position labels had not yet been changed, it was an inadvertent omission.
反修例期間，因阻差辦公罪成，經上訴後被判囚八個月的前獨立社工劉家棟，今（12日）晚上於社交平台 Instagram 發文指，收到社工註冊局來函，指他不能自稱「前社工」。據了解，信中提醒劉，再自稱「前社工」、「社運案獨立社工」，或已觸犯《社工註冊》條例。劉在帖文指，自己「不再是社工」、如有任何位置標示尚未更改，實屬無心之失。
25 Jan 2025獨媒#4467
社總調查指逾七成社工反對進修與註冊續期掛勾
The Government amended the law last July to empower the “enhanced” Social Workers Registration Board to set the content of continuing professional development for social workers. The Hong Kong Social Workers’ General Union recently conducted an online questionnaire survey, in which more than 70% of the 535 social workers surveyed disagreed with linking continuing education to annual licence renewal. More than 90% said the Social Workers Registration Board should consult the profession before setting the relevant requirements.
The survey also found that more than 60% of social workers considered 10 hours a year to be an appropriate continuing education requirement, while 70% believed that a range of continuing education channels should be provided.
The union held a press conference on Saturday (January 25). Its chairperson, Chi Wai (1965) Cheung, said the profession had traditionally used a voluntary continuing education mechanism, and hoped the Registration Board would consider whether continuing professional development was a hindrance or a help to social workers’ professional development. Chi Wai (1965) Cheung urged the Board not to lose its direction when exercising its powers. Chi Wai (1965) Cheung also said the Board’s resources came from the HK$400 registration fee paid by social workers, and that using too many resources on the administration of continuing education could disappoint the expectations of the profession.
Chi Wai (1965) Cheung added that many organisations provided in-house training for social workers, while many social workers also pursued further education independently. The number of continuing education hours generally completed by social workers had already exceeded 10 hours, Chi Wai (1965) Cheung said. Chi Wai (1965) Cheung suggested that the requirement be calculated over a three-year cycle, with 30 hours required over three years, to reduce the pressure on social workers.
政府去年七月修例，予「完善」後的社工註冊局制定社工持續專業進修的內容。香港社會工作者總工會早前在網上進行問卷調查，535名社工中逾七成的受訪者不同意進修與每年續牌掛勾。調查又顯示，逾九成受訪社工認為社工註冊局制定相關內容前，需先諮詢業界。
調查亦指，逾六成社工認為每年進修要求為10小時，七成人認為應提供多元進修渠道。
社總周六（1月25日）舉行記者會，會長張志偉指，過往業界一直採用自願進修的機制，「希望註冊局去諗一諗呢個持續進修對社工專業發展係一個阻力定係一個助力」，籲註冊局行使權力時不要迷失方向。他又指局方的資源來自社工400元的註冊費，指如使用過多資源於進修方面的行政工作，或有損業界期望。
張志偉亦提到，不少機構皆為社工提供內部培訓，不少社工亦有私下進修，認為現時普遍社工的進修時數已超過10小時。他又建議要求可以三年為一個周期，即三年達30小時，減輕社工壓力。
16 Dec 2024獨媒#4360
「完善」後社工註冊局首選舉 投票率僅6.63％
Turnout in the first election of the Social Workers Registration Board after its reorganisation was 6.63%, down 17% from the previous election. Deputy Secretary for Labour and Welfare Ho Kai-ming said yesterday that the election method had changed this time, from allowing postal voting to requiring voters to vote in person, so the figures could not be directly compared. Board chairman Herman Chung Shing Hui acknowledged on a radio programme this morning that turnout was lower than expected, saying this might be because there were too few polling stations or because few frontline social workers stood as candidates, resulting in limited enthusiasm for voting. He stressed that the fairness of physical ballots was “easier to ensure”, saying the previous system allowing postal ballots was “very unfair”. Asked whether the low turnout would affect the legitimacy of the mechanism after the “improvement”, he did not respond directly, saying the Board was “serving the public” and not “serving social workers alone”.
社工註冊局改組後首次選舉投票率6.63%，較去屆大跌17 %，勞工及福利局副局長何啟明昨日解畫指，今屆選舉方法有變，由容許郵寄投票改為要求親身投票，不能直接比較。社工註冊局主席許宗盛今早在電台節目承認投票率較預期低，稱原因或為票站太少，亦可能是欠缺前線社工參選，令投票情況不熱衷。他強調實體票的公平性「較易掌握」，指以往選制容許郵寄票「好唔公道」。至於低投票率會否影響「完善」後的機制認受性，許未有正面回應，稱註冊局是「為市民服務」，並非「單單為社工服務」。
12 Dec 2024獨媒#4352
管浩鳴任社聯主席掌社福界兩大組織 稱發揮互補作用、推動灣區養老
The Hong Kong Council of Social Service has reshuffled its senior leadership, with Legislative Council member Koon Ho-ming taking over as chairperson of its Executive Committee. Koon, who is also chairperson of the board of the Social Welfare Sector Heart-to-Heart Action, will lead the two major organisations in Hong Kong’s social welfare sector. He hopes they can complement each other and said that, in addressing Hong Kong’s ageing population, the two organisations need to collaborate with the mainland and internationally. He also hopes to promote elderly care for Hong Kong seniors in the Greater Bay Area, as the city’s elderly-care facilities have been unable to keep pace with population ageing. He said: “The biggest difficulty we face is ultimately the ageing population structure. Compared with the mainland, where about 20% of the population is elderly, our figure is over 36%.”
香港社會服務聯會高層改組，立法會議員管浩鳴接任執委會主席。本身是「社福界心連心大行動」董事會主席的管浩鳴，將統領本港社福界兩大組織，他希望兩者能發揮互補，並指兩個組織在迎對本港人口老化，需要與內地、國際協作，希望能推動香港長者在大灣區養老，因為本港安老設施未能追得上老齡化：「始終我哋面對最大困難，都係人口結構老齡化，因為比起內地嚟講，內地老齡人口約20%，我哋36點幾%。」
11 Dec 2024獨媒#4346
社總：有復牌社工被要求補交刑事案件資料 停牌期無準則
The Legislative Council passed the Social Workers Registration (Amendment) Bill 2024 at its third reading in July this year. The bill “overhauled” the Social Workers Registration Board by substantially increasing the number of appointed members, and empowered the board to cancel for a specified period the registrations of social workers convicted of criminal offences. Social workers who violate the Hong Kong National Security Law may be removed from the register permanently. Since the new board took office, 11 people have had their social worker registrations temporarily cancelled for periods ranging from three months to three years for various offences, including unlawful assembly and assault with intent to resist arrest. Eight of them were involved in cases related to the anti-extradition bill movement. The Hong Kong Social Workers’ General Union said that some social workers who had previously been suspended and later reinstated were asked by the board to submit additional criminal case information. It also said notification letters issued to some social workers whose registrations had been cancelled did not specify a time limit, raising concerns about “punishment upon punishment, seemingly an endless cycle”. InMedia had approached the board for comment, but had not received a reply by press time.
After the board was “overhauled”, its membership increased from 15 to 27. The number of members appointed by the Chief Executive rose from six to 17, while the number of elected members remained at eight. The Director of Social Welfare or the director’s representative was also added. The overhauled board also introduced an oath-taking requirement, prompting several former elected members to resign.
立法會今年七月三讀通過《2024年社會工作者註冊（修訂）條例草案》，「完善」社工註冊局，大增委任成員，並賦予註冊局可有限期註銷干犯刑事罪行社工的註冊，違反《港區國安法》的社工則可永久除名。新社工註冊局上任至今，有11人因干犯不同罪行，包括非法集結、意圖拒捕而襲擊等，被暫時註銷社工註冊3個月至3年，當中8人涉及反修例案件。香港社會工作者總工會表示，有曾停牌、及後復牌的社工被註冊局要求補交刑事案件資料，而有被註銷牌照的社工，通知信上未有列明時限，憂「重罰再重罰，好似無限輪迴咁。」《獨媒》曾向註冊局查詢，至截稿未獲回覆。
社工註冊局「完善」後，成員人數由15人大增至27人，由行政長官委任的成員由6人增加至17人，民選成員維持8人，另加上社會福利署署長或其代表。「完善」後的註冊局亦加入宣誓要求，多名原民選成員辭任。
29 Oct 2024HK01#4185
員工不打針須交500字解釋或公開「分享」 醫管局：已促加強溝通
The new seasonal influenza vaccination campaign will begin in September, with the Hospital Authority’s staff influenza vaccination programme also launching around the same time. A healthcare worker at a public hospital claimed that the management of some departments at hospitals in the Hospital Authority’s New Territories West Cluster had required employees to be vaccinated by the 14th of next month. Otherwise, they would have to submit a written explanation of at least 500 words by that date or give a 15-minute “sharing” at a department meeting explaining the “drawbacks of getting vaccinated”.
The Hospital Authority did not confirm or deny the employee’s claim. It said it was aware that some clinical departments at certain hospitals might adopt a more proactive approach by requiring employees to explain or provide proof of their reasons for choosing not to receive the influenza vaccine. The Hospital Authority said it had reminded the relevant clinical departments to strengthen communication with employees on influenza vaccination in order to avoid misunderstandings.
The Hospital Authority said hospital clusters had a responsibility to adopt various measures to encourage and assist employees in receiving the influenza vaccine as early as possible. They were also responsible for understanding employees’ intentions regarding vaccination, to ensure the smooth operation of public hospitals during the influenza peak season.
新一季接種季節性流感疫苗計劃9月開打，醫管局員工防疫注射計劃亦在相若時間展開。有公院醫護人員聲稱，醫管局新界西醫院聯網有個別醫院的部門管理層要求員工在下月14日之前接種疫苗，否則須於當日前交不少於500字書面解釋，或在部門會議時作15分鐘「分享」，解釋「打針壞處」。
醫管局回應時沒承認或否認該員工的說法，指知悉有部份醫院臨床部門可能會採取較進取方式，要求員工解釋或提供證明，說明選擇不接種流感疫苗原因，醫管局已提醒有關臨床部門注意在接種流感疫苗的問題上與員工加強溝通，避免產生誤會。
醫管局指，指各醫院聯網是有責任採取不同措施鼓勵及協助員工盡早接種流感疫苗，亦有責任了解轄下員工接種流感疫苗的意向，以確保公立醫院在流感高峰期時運作暢順。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
